digital music

Microsoft's very own Xbox Music app for Android is getting a new name. Don't be surprised if you see 'Groove' everywhere because the software giant has made changes to some of its apps. Aside from the music app being rebranded, Xbox Video will now be known as 'Movies & TV'. The name 'Groove' may mean a lot of things but I'd like to think that it has something to do with establishing a habit or a routine. Music as a routine? Yep, Groove can help you with that.

If you’re into music creation and all that, and you’re looking to use the tech available around you to help you get to that Billboard Top 10 hit – ok, maybe an exaggeration, but you never know – you should seriously check out this offer from Open Labs. The developers are putting up their StageLight music creation app – around USD$10.00 value – free for members of the XDA forum.

The BBC iPlayer Radio app has something in store for regular users beginning this week: you can now download BBC Proms and BBC radio programmes for offline listening for free up to 30 days on the app. BBC has finally allowed offline streaming, much to the delight of avid app users. BBC is updating the app with the added feature anytime this week so make sure you regularly check Google Play Store if the new version is ready to download.

Google continues to push into the online streaming music space with its current vendor program-slash-offering Google Play Music. This competes directly with services like Spotify and Apple’s iTunes music store. To leverage itself, it has now created a free to use, free to download, ad-supported version of Google Play Music, much like how people use Spotify for free.

Japan may be the second-biggest music market in the world, but the industry is vastly different as it is still compact discs that account for more than half of their music sales. The country's largest social network, LINE, will now aim to go where others have not gone before (at least in Japan): digital music streaming services. LINE Music is now available for a monthly subscription, offering unlimited access to millions of songs in their library.

After the Google I/O Developer Conference, geeks have the WWDC 2015 to keep them busy. While the two events have two different markets, we're happy to announce that Apple and Google are finally working together by allowing some products and services to work on the other platform. Take for example this Apple Music. The new service won't be available only for the iPhones but will also work on Android devices.

The Shazam app for mobile is usually regularly updated but the last one we featured was already four months ago. But good news to Shazam fans and have their smartwatches as Shazam is now available on Android Wear. This means you can use your latest wearable to play music from your Shazam playlist.

This new app will turn you into a DJ superstar ... provided of course that you were a good one to begin with. Ok, we kid. We know it’s all marketing, but this new app from DJiT promises to make mixing digital music that much easier. We don’t know about easier, mainly because we don’t mix. But if you are into mixing and DJ-ing, you might want to give this a try, and it’s on a discounted price as well.

SimpleCity, a developer also known as timusus over on Reddit, excitedly announced that he recently updated the Shuttle Music Player Android app to v1.5.0. As with the latest Android app updates, this version has received major Material Design elements, numerous bug fixes, MusixMatch support and Google Analytics removed, added lyrics & comment editing, a brand new icon, and of course, major improvements on performance. With this update, you can now also upgrade the free version via IAP according to developer.

Sonos has always been one of the top music apps on Google Play Store and its developer has just updated it to version 5.3. The Sonos app for phones and tablets has gotten even better, faster, and easier to use, thanks to more UX improvements, bug fixes, and an improved design. This recent update was actually released as beta a few weeks ago but it's now ready for a full launch. Main features include changes to moving music around your home plus three taps to party mode, track progression bar now more prominent, and new swipe gestures to control music playback.